Noro…to love or not to love…price is the question…
Yesterday was a wonderful day! I spent the morning with my group of knit buddies, sitting in the spring sunshine, eating cake and drinking cappuccinos and just chatting about life, the Universe and everything…
Since Gerry is in the US, I do not need to go into work, so I have just veg’d and wasted time doing fun * (see footnote) things…
I have had a new idea for a project using the African Flower Hexagon (have you noticed? I love this pattern…), and messed around with different colours and combinations, as a trial run for the pattern (Yes, it’s still a secret…)
A couple of moons ago, I decided that I needed to find out if all the hype about the Noro range of yarns was justified. If you take a look on Ravelry, Noro seems to be side by side in the Hall of Yarn Fame, with the likes of angel wing handspun and unicorn mane roving…
Of course, in South Africa, it was impossible to find the stuff, so I ended up importing it from the States….and no, I admit to ordering NOT just one ball….
After I had to virtually trade an organ to pay the &%##?!! customs person the price of the exorbitant duty levied on the yarn when it arrived, I muttered unpleasantries all the way home, because surely I thought, no yarn can be worth that amount of money.
Strike 1….
When I opened the parcel, It was wrapped in a plastic bag and looking at the colours, I re-thought my earlier uncharitable behaviour! The colours are absolutely divine! Really saturated, intense colours in gorgeous combinations and gradations. Then I opened the plastic bag…
Strike 2….
The stuff is as hard as three day old oatmeal stuck on a spoon! Aaaaarrrggghhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
D**m I thought! Ok…Stay Calm and Fabric Soften On… I told myself….
It was not to be. After soaking a skein in super-concentrated fabric softener, all I ended up with was Noro that needed rinsing.
NOT good.
Oh well, if life chucks lemons, chuck lemonade! See? I must be getting old…in the face of an obvious reality, I choose to ignore the 900 pound gorilla in the room…
Noro Kureyon is seemingly made from a roving spinning type action, because it has no ply, and is very uneven in places, with yarn thickness varying from 4 ply to chunky! Ugh! I even had the tragedy of the yarn committing a self destruct in places…no folks, it’s not the greatest to knit or crochet with…
Strike 3…
So….despite the beautiful colours and the fanatic following, I have come to the conclusion that Noro is ok (only because of the colours), but not at that kind of cost!
I guess in fairness, it does cost less in the US and Europe, so perhaps putting up with the scratchiness, and uneveness is less of a burden, than here in SA.
But for now, I will just use up what I bought and then seek other sources of colour nirvana…
Do you love Noro Yarn? Let me know… 🙂
♥Heidi
*totally frivolous and absolutely necessary
